Output of chemical products in Russia grew by 3.4% in January-August 2018

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of chemical products dropped in August 2018 by 3.7% month on month.
Production of basic chemicals increased by 3.4% in the first eight months of 2019, according to Rosstat's data.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, the largest increase in production volumes on an annualized basis accounted for mineral fertilizers and polymers in primary form. Thus, 255 ,000 tonnes of ethylene were produced in August, compared to 233,000 tonnes a month earlier. Angarsk Polymers Plant and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat shut down their production capacities for maintenance in July. Thus, 2,056,000 tonnes of this olefin were produced in January-August 2019, up by 2.5% year on year.

Benzene production in August amounted to 117,000 tonnes against 108,000 tonnes a month earlier, which was also a result of the shutdowns in Angarsk and Salavat. Overall output of this product reached 968,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 0.5% year on year.

August production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) were 111,000 tonnes (100% of the basic substance) versus 97,900 tonnes a month earlier. SayanskKhimPlast and Bashkir Soda Company shut their capacities for scheduled maintenances in July. Overall output of caustic soda totalled 853,900 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 844,500 tonnes a year earlier.

1,939,000 tonnes of mineral fertilizers (in terms of 100% nutrients) were produced in August versus 1,99 mln tonnes a month earlier. Overall, Russian plants produced 16,253,000 tonnes of fertilizers in January-August 2019, up by 3.7% year on year.

Last month's production of polymers in primary form decreased to 734,000 tonnes, up 6.5% from July due to scheduled maintenance works of several manufacturers. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 5,668,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by only 3.4% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil has announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant, which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y, according to ScottishEnergyNews.

The programme will aim to upgrade key infrastructure and introduce new technologies to significantly improve the plant’s operational reliability and performance. In particular, the impact of flaring is expected to be reduced.

The project is also expected to support around 850 local construction jobs and benefit 40 local suppliers.

Jacob McAlister, plant manager at the Fife ethylene plant, said: "This investment further contributes to the local economy and across Scotland through job creation and procurement contracts."

The program adds to other recent investments that ExxonMobil is making in its UK production assets. In April, the company said it planned to proceed with an expansion at its Fawley refinery and petrochemical plant near Southampton.

This project, which will cost more than ?800 million, will see the addition of a hydrotreater to remove sulfur from diesel, along with a hydrogen plant. Construction is scheduled to start late this year with start-up anticipated in 2021.

A USD75 million project to double capacity of advanced elastomers in Newport, Wales, was also completed in May.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Operations were normal last Thursday at Lyondell Basell Industries 263,776 barrel-per-day (bpd) Houston refinery after the closure of the upper Houston Ship Channel by protesters from Greenpeace USA, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

The refinery has not made plans to cut back production or shut units, the sources said. The refinery has crude on-hand to continue operating for several days.

As MRC reported earlier, Lyondell Basell Industries Houston refinery had a minor upset in steam supply that was corrected quickly and not repeated. Refineries in the Houston area suffered only minor problems in the first night of Tropical Storm Imelda’s passage across the southeast Texas.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Production at Exxon Mobil Corp’s 560,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Baytown, Texas refinery was unaffected by a closure of the upper Houston Ship Channel because of a protest by Greenpeace USA, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Baytown refinery is the fourth largest in the United States and Exxon’s largest US refinery.

As MRC wrote previously, Exxon Mobil Corp brought under control a fire that erupted on 31 July, 2019, at its Baytown, Texas, refining and chemical plant complex, injuring 37 workers, none seriously. The fire, which was put down by the company’s employees, sent black smoke into the air over the complex in Baytown, a city of 75,000 which is located about 30 miles (48 km) east of Houston.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S. biodiesel industry leaders told an Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator in Houston, Texas that they want the Trump administration to boost the volume of biodiesel that oil refiners must blend into their fuel each year, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The request came days after President Donald Trump promised to deliver a "giant package" to U.S. farmers related to ethanol, in response to pressure from the corn lobby over the administration's expanded use of waivers freeing small refineries from their obligation to blend biofuels.

Under the Renewable Fuel Standard regulation, refineries are required to blend biofuels into their fuel but small facilities under financial strain can be exempted. Trump authorized the EPA to grant 31 waivers to small refineries in August, far more than the Obama administration had typically granted.

The biodiesel leaders told Region 6 Administrator Ken McQueen that the biodiesel industry has also been hurt by the waivers, not just the ethanol industry, and an increase in blending mandates would help compensate for that, the sources said.

During the meeting, the group added that it does not benefit from the lifting of a summertime ban on E15, a higher-ethanol blend of gasoline, the sources said. The Trump administration earlier this year lifted the ban, hoping to give a boost to Midwest farmers struggling under his trade wars.

McQueen said he would relay comments from the meeting to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the sources said.

In July, EPA proposed requiring refiners to blend 20.04 billion gallons of biofuels into their fuel in 2020, up from 19.92 billion gallons in 2019. The proposed mandate, now under review by other government agencies before being finalized, includes 15 billion gallons of conventional biofuels like ethanol, unchanged from 2019. It also includes 5.04 billion gallons of advanced biofuels, like those made from agricultural wastes, up from 4.92 billion in 2019, the sources said.

The mandate also proposed a biodiesel mandate of 2.43 billion gallons for 2021, unchanged from 2020, they said. The EPA sets biodiesel mandates a year in advance. PA has until the end of November to finalize the proposal.
MRC